Second Chance
by Phokej
Summary: Just a short oneshot about Miriallia and Dearka, hope you'll like it :-  RxR please
1. Chapter 1

Unfortunately, I do not own GSD :-)

**Second Chance**

'_Things lost in battle won't come back anymore… Why did I suddenly remember this?' _Miriallia leaned over the banister in a long corridor inside the building where the PLANT's council was residing. She looked down at the people rushing back and forth, diligently preparing for the Lacus's designation as the Head of the Council. Miri sighed and turned her sight towards the glass ceiling. Seeing the blue sky outside, she once again remembered Kira's words. She smiled sadly.

'_Tolle, it's been __just three years since your death and we were once again pulled into a conflict that could destroy all the humankind, despite all the sacrifices of the previous war… Why did we have to fight again? Why do we, humans, must always fight?' _She slowly closed her eyes. _'Do you think there is a hope for us to learn from our mistakes and not repeat this old scenario? Or is it an ordeal we must live with?'_ She felt tears in her eyes but didn't want to let them fall.

"Hey, beautiful princess, why so gloomy?" Disturbed by sudden whispering voice near her ear, Miriallia jumped off her feet and almost fell on her bottom.

"DEARKA! Why do you sneak on me like a thief, you dumbass?" She wanted to hit him but he evaded her attack and just laughed.

"Oy, oy, don't be so angry, I just wanted to greet you. We used to be quite close in the past." Dearka said making a puppy's eyes.

"Oh, please, don't remind me of that!" She turned away from him.

"So you still can't forgive me?" He asked softly.

Miri just shot him a sharp glance.

"Ahhh…" Dearka sighed and leaned against the banister next to Miriallia. He knew he screwed it big time in the past. He solemnized as he remembered how he first met Miri. Even now, he was still feeling regrets although it wasn't him but Athrun who killed her first love. He thought back to last week when he, Yzak and Athrun visited Nicol's grave.

''_We all say 'we won't repeat the same mistake, we don't want to fight, we want peace' but yet we fought again… Yeah, we thought if we fight we'll end this war sooner but for how much longer are we going to do so before we don't have to fight anymore? Or are we going to continue fighting and killing till we die?' Dearka said while standing in the graveyard._

'_You stupid, what do you think we're doing right now? We do everything we can to prevent the fights forever!' Yzak yelled at him._

'_You're right. That's why we fought so desperately. To be able to choose the future with our own hands and live in peace.''_

Dearka smiled. _'It was the first time Yzak and Athrun agreed on anything.'_

"By the way, Miriallia, what are you doing here?" He suddenly asked surprising Miri who almost forgot he's standing next to her.

"Why do you ask?" She said briefly.

"I'm just curious, you don't need to be so defensive." Dearka said in a slightly hurt tone. Miri's face softened when she realized she is a bit too cold and stiff.

"Because of work, of course. Lacus is going to be the Chairman of the PLANT and I'm photographer. I will surely earn some money selling her photos." She paused for a moment. "And I always wanted to see what the PLANT look like. I may take some good photos while being here as well." She stopped herself. _'Oh my, why am I talking so much? I mustn't forget I don't like this guy anymore!'_

"Oh, I see… And what do plan to do after the ceremony?"

"Hey, just because I answered your question, it doesn't mean you can ask whatever you want!" Miriallia immediately straightened up and wanted to walk away but Dearka caught her hand and stopped her.

"Miri, I didn't mean to intrude your privacy. I just thought that you might accept my invitation for a drink… As a friend, of course."

Miri wanted to refuse immediately but the sad and lost look in Dearka's eyes stopped her. Today he didn't seem to be his usual joking self.

She deeply sighed. "Alright, but just one drink and then I'll leave."

Dearka smiled from ear to ear and hold her hand more firmly.

"Great, let's get going before you change your mind." He started to walk quickly pulling Miriallia with him.

"Hey… Dearka… you… slow down!... Hey!" But he didn't listen to her so she resigned to her fate and ran after him.

**oOo**

The bright sun greeted Miriallia and made her nose crinkle. _'God, my head hurts… where am I?' _She carefully stretched her body trying not to move her head as much as possible because every change of position made her head spinning and hurt. Then she noticed something heavy around her waist. Still with her eyes closed she cautiously touched that unknown object only to find out it's an arm. Very heavy, very hairy and very manly arm. That shocking revelation triggered her memory. _'Oh my god, please tell me I didn't do it!' _She slowly opened her eyes only to confirm that she, in fact, DID it.

She felt a slight movement behind her back and completely froze, closing her eyes firmly. She didn't dare to turn around to see whether Dearka is still sleeping or not. She listened carefully and when he didn't move even after five minutes she started to slowly sneak out the bed. She landed on her butt and seeing her naked body and the clothes all over the room made her cover her blushing face. _'I need to get out of here before he wakes up… Just why did I drink with him yesterday?' _

Still on her knees she started to move around the hotel's room and pick up her clothes. Unconsciously, she allowed Dearka to thoroughly admire her naked body. He did wake up before and was enjoying her original way of leaving the bed. _'She's so lovely.'_ He thought while watching Miri trying to put on her panties and bra without any sound. She almost fell but kept her balance somehow. She got dressed, gathered her things and was near the door when she heard the voice she prayed she wouldn't hear at this moment.

"Are you going somewhere?" Dearka's lazy voice was filled with so much sexiness it made her blush although she didn't want to react at all.

"I…I… have some work…" Miriallia managed to say in a small voice.

"Oh, really?"

Miri mustered all of her courage and guts to turn to Dearka only to find him laying on the bed with folded arms behind his head, the blanket barely covering his waist. She quickly averted her eyes.

"Y-Yes. So if you excuse me…" She almost ran towards the door and stopped there surprised when the door didn't open immediately. She stood there with blank mind until she felt Dearka was standing behind her. God knows how he got there so quickly.

"The door is locked." He whispered softly into her ear making her flinch.

"Then unlock it." She tried to sound firm.

"And if I don't…?" He was leaning against the door leaving Miriallia only a small space to move in.

Unwillingly she turned to him, noticing, both pleased and disappointed, that he's wearing the blanket. She better looked up to his face, trying not to be swayed by his broad shoulders and muscular chest. The feeling of the touch of them in her hands was still very much alive from previous night.

"Why not?"

Dearka smiled lazily. "Do you really need to ask?"

"B-But I really need to go." She tried to plead with him.

He moved closer to her and she closed her eyes expecting him to kiss her. Then she slowly opened her eyes again only to see him one meter away with the door behind her opened.

She stood there for a long moment contemplating but then she almost ran outside leaving behind only her scent. The door closed again.

'_You can run as far as you want,__ my dear princess, I'll still find you. Now that I got this second chance I'm not going to let it slip away.'_ Dearka thought contented with the course of the recent events. _'Who would have thought that after several drinks Miriallia would do something like that.' _He touched his lips lightly remembering his surprised reaction after Miri's sudden action. _'And the look in her eyes at that moment wasn't a look of person who hates but rather…' _He smiled again and laid down on the bed again replaying every moment of the previous night in his he suddenly remembered one thing and sat down again. A slow smile appeared on his lips and soon he was laughing from ear to ear. He closed his eyes and sighed in pure contentment. _'Shall I tell her we didn't use any protection?' _And that was his last thought before he fell asleep again.

4


	2. Chapter 2

Hello, my dear readers,

I'm really happy you liked this short story and because I got very nice reviews (thanks Cagallirocks and firekitsune2z) I decided to write a little continuation. :-) I hope you'll like this as well.

There is also going to be a part three but I don't know when. :D

**Part 2**

Miri was sitting on toilet in the bathroom of her flat. She was blankly looking at the small stick she was holding in her hand. _'Two blue strips…' _This was the only thing on her mind. She was like this for almost 10 minutes, unable to move or to even comprehend what this result means. She checked the instructions written on a box she was holding in her other hand. There was no mistake. She was pregnant.

'_How did this happen?' _She asked herself and grimaced remembering that faithful night one month ago. _'Dear God, what did I do in my previous life that you punish me like this?'_

Miri sighed and finally stood up. She left the bathroom and still with the pregnancy kit she went to the kitchen. There she threw the stick and the box into the bin and made herself a tea.

She sat down by the table, slowly sipping the tea and munching biscuits. She sighed again. Now it all made sense, her constant tiredness, lack of appetite, nausea and exaggerated reactions. She thought of these symptoms as stress and prelude to flu but when one of her friends commented that she also had such problems at the beginning of her pregnancy, it lit up a light of suspicion in Miri.

And now she was sure. _'Oh my, what am I going to do with this?'_ She looked down to her flat stomach. She just couldn't imagine that there is a tiny little one inside. _'And on top of it, it's Dearka's.'_ Miri hung down her head laying it on the table. She spent the last month successfully avoiding him and now it seemed like she's bound to him more than ever before. She knew that Dearka was looking for her from their friends but she still couldn't sort out her feelings so she just kept running away every time she heard his name. She knew she couldn't do this anymore.

'_Alright. I admit he attracts me. A lot. He's handsome and I'm not made of stone. But is this enough for a relationship to work out? We already tried it once and it was a disaster.' _Miri stood up and started to walk back and forth. _'But now you both are older. You're not seventeen anymore.' _Her mind pointed out. _'That might be true but I doubt Dearka is more grown-up than he was two years ago.' _She objected. _'But you never know until you try.' _Her conscience answered immediately.

"Ahhhh…!" Miri half-screamed relieving the accumulated tension inside her chest. '_This is not going anywhere.'_ She stopped marching around the kitchen, placed the cup inside the sink and went to bedroom to get dressed. _'I'll think about the way out of this later.'_

**oOo**

Her 'later' came much, much sooner than she expected. Just when she got fully dressed and left her bedroom, her door bell rang.

Wondering who might be the guest, she went to open the door. She froze immediately when she saw Dearka leaning against the door frame. He was smiling but she could sense that he wasn't actually in a pleasant mood.

"Hi, Miriallia, I finally found you. We have an unfinished talk." He said with serious voice and walked past Miri who couldn't move at all from the shock.

"I think you should close the door." Dearka's slightly ironic remark woke her up finally and she slowly did as he said. Her brain started to work as well and she realized that he called her with her full name. _'He never did this before. It was always 'Miri' or 'princess'.' _Strangely it made her feel really bad. _'He must be really angry.' _Then she lectured herself. _'Why should I feel guilty over making him angry? We are not a couple anymore nor do we have anything in common!' _She turned and saw Dearka already sitting on her sofa. It irritated her and she couldn't suppress an angry snort.

"What are you doing here?" Miri asked finally finding her lost voice.

Dearka straightened up from his seemingly relaxed pose. "I told you, we have an unfinished talk. Or did you already forget the night one month ago?"

Miri flinched and closed her eyes not wanting to remember but she still did. _'Now I can't forget even if I want.'_

Dearka noticed her reaction and nodded approvingly. _'Good. At least she's not in denial about it anymore.'_

"Won't you sit down?"

Miri looked at the man in front of her in disbelief. "Don't order me around, this is my home!"

Dearka just shrugged. "I didn't mean to order you around, it was just a suggestion. I thought you might want to sit before we talk."

Miri just inhaled sharply but did what Dearka told her to. Of course she chose armchair that was furthest from him.

"So? What do you want to talk about?" She said pretending to be completely uninterested.

"Oh, why so cold? You're hurting me, honey." Dearka said touching his chest in pretended pain.

"If you want to play around, then do it yourself. I have a work to go to." Miri said irritated and stood up.

"Sit down." Dearka's voice was suddenly very deep and serious.

"I told you to not order me around." Miri weakly protested but her threat was suppressed by fear.

"Sit down." Dearka repeated quietly.

Miri slowly sat down. Suddenly she was afraid. Afraid what she was going to hear. She has never seen Dearka being like this and it gave her goosebumps.

"One month ago," He slowly started. "I thought that you finally understood what's between us and that our relationship didn't end when you broke up with me. I knew the revelation has scared you and that's why you ran away in the morning." He paused for a second.

"BUT I would have never thought that you're such a coward to continue running away from me for another whole month."

"What do you mean by running away? That night was just a mistake I don't wish to repeat! Ever!" Miri tried to defend herself but she somehow knew that she was going to lose this argument.

"Oh, please! Would you stop denying it? Just face it, you were the one who started it one month ago!"

"NO, I wasn't!" Miri almost screamed, scared and not wanting to admit the truth even now.

"Ahhh!" Dearka just angrily shouted and looked up to the sky. "You and your fear! When will you realize that you can't live like that forever?"

"What do you mean? I have nothing to be scared of!"

Dearka arched his eyebrows in pretended surprise. "Oh, really? And what about losing me in a battle?"

His words blanketed Miri. Her lips started to tremble as she felt a twinge of pain in her chest. She would have never thought that he knew about it. His next sentence only confirmed her fear.

"Did you think I didn't know the reason you broke up with me?" Dearka smiled unhappily. "Why do you think I let you go so easily? I knew even without you telling me that you don't want to go through the same horror you did after Tolle's death."

Miri just sat there, unable to move or talk. A silence spread between them.

"But I'm soldier and I'll always be so you better accept it." Miri lifted her head confused by Dearka's sudden change of voice and saw him smiling the way he always does. But before she could ask what he meant by that, Dearka continued.

"Because, my dear Miri, now the war is over and I'm not going to let you slip away from my grasp again."

His self-confident declaration annoyed her. _'And for one moment I thought he was serious.' _She thought angrily.

Dearka stood up and looked down on her. Patting her head he continued.

"I'll be at Ceasar's hotel till tomorrow evening so you can find me there when you're ready to stop running away from yourself. Till then."

Miri shook his hand from her head. "You wish! I won't EVER come!"

Dearka just smiled and waved at her before closing the door leaving totally pissed off Miri behind.

"WHO DOES HE THINKS HE IS TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" Miri jumped off her seat, fuming with anger and breathing heavily while trying to calm down her nerves and vigorously beating heart.

"He just walks in, says whatever he wants and then leaves with 'come to find me when you're ready'? HA!"

She was marching around the room to calm herself down before she suddenly lost all the energy and sat down on a sofa. She closed her eyes and leaned against it. Letting a small sigh to escape her mouth, she looked up to the sky.

'_I have no right to be angry. Dearka was right. I'm really a coward...' _She smiled sadly. '_I like him so much yet I still run away…' _ She looked down to her stomach and placed her right hand over it as if the tiny baby inside could give her the wanted answer. Slowly she smiled. Before Dearka's visit she didn't know what to think about her sudden discovery and she didn't even want to imagine having a baby but suddenly her feelings took a one hundred and eighty degree turn. _'Is it because of your daddy's visit, baby?' _She asked. Her mind finally settled down and she knew what she was going to do.

"Alright." She said aloud as she stood up and went to kitchen where she took the pregnancy kit from the bin.

She smiled cunningly. _'Dear baby, your daddy's going to have an evening he won't ever forget!'_


	3. Chapter 3

Hi, people, I'm back :-))))))

I hope you missed me even if just a little :-)))

I was finally able to finish the third part of this short story and I sincerely hope you'll like it. :-)

Enjoy :-)

**Part 3**

"We are late."

"We are always late." Dearka tried to calm down Miriallia who was standing in the doorway of their bedroom, looking exceedingly angry. Even the sight of her husband playing with their two sons couldn't mend her anger.

"You were supposed to be ready thirty minutes ago! What have you been doing this whole time?" Miri tried to control her voice that was quickly rising.

"Ehm… Playing?" Her husband answered in a weak voice.

"PLAYING, PLAYIIIING…" Dearka shot a desperate look at his children realizing he was really a fool to expect any help from two-year-old kids.

"Tolle, Nicol, go to your room. I'll come to help you get dressed in a minute." Miri paused for a second. "After I kill your father."

"But, ma, we want to play with daddy." Tolle pouted his lips and Nicol imitated his brother immediately.

"Now."

Both boys hesitatingly climbed off the bed and went slowly to their room. Miri watched them as they passed by her and when she turned back her sight, Dearka was already standing in front of her.

"You're not going to talk yourself out of this." She warned him but he just smiled at her knowing she's not immune against it. He slowly closed his arms around her pressing her against his chest.

"My dear, don't be angry. I just wanted to spend some time with our beautiful boys for I've been away for so long."

Miri didn't say a word and just sighed at his true words. He was indeed gone for a long time, fulfilling his duty in army although the war was over for more than two years. She looked up at him and marveled how much he changed from the time they first met. He was still the same jester Dearka but he matured a lot and now she could fully rely on him. She smiled making Dearka wonder why her mood changed so quickly.

"You always use this underhanded method when you know you did something wrong." Miri accused him but her words lacked the blade.

"Yes, because it always works." Dearka admitted grinning, making Miri's temper to rise again as she tried to free herself from him. He quickly tightened his grip and caressed her to calm again.

"Ok, ok, I'll be good." He said smoothly. Miri didn't believe him even for a second but decided to let it be for now. Actually, she was doing this for more than two years already but who would count it, right?

"You were saying we were late." Dearka changed the subject and brought Miri back to reality.

"Yes, the wedding starts in just two hours."

"Two hours?" Dearka cried unbelievingly. "For God's sake, Miri, we could travel to Plant and back and we would still make it! The venue is just thirty minutes away from here!"

Miri let her husband to finish and then she cleared her throat.

"My dear, do I have to remind you what happened the last time we had enough time to, how did you say it? Ah, to 'travel to Plant and back'?" She winked several times at her husband.

It took Dearka just few seconds to remember and he blushed unexpectedly.

"Well… That was… " He just breathed out and shrugged.

Miri chuckled and decided to let the whole matter be. Whether they're late or not, she was sure Cagalli and Athrun would understand. _'They'll have other things to worry about anyway.' _She thought.

"Let's go to see the children, we left them alone for way too long." She said and they left the room hand in hand.

When they reached the room they saw both boys sleeping on the floor among their toys. They smiled at each other and lifted each one of them and placed them in their small beds. Miri put the blankets around her children carefully and then joined Dearka standing in the doorway. They watched their kids silently until Dearka spoke softly.

"I can't believe they grew up so much. I still remember the moment I found out about you expecting them."

Miri giggled reminded of the fateful scene in the hotel lobby.

_Late afternoon, Miriallia entered the lobby of Dearka's hotel. After his morning visit at her apartment and after she finally calmed down, Miri knew exactly what she was going to do. Of course she couldn't run to him immediately after he left. No, that would be too easy for Dearka. Although she understood his reasoning and agreed to it, it didn't mean she would do what he wanted her to right away. _

_Miri smiled again and looked down on a small package wrapped up in pretty paper. She walked to the reception and leaned against the desk. Young receptionist looked up immediately and put on a smile._

"_Good afternoon, Miss, how can I help you?"_

"_Good afternoon, I'd like you to deliver this package into the room of Dearka Elsman."_

_The girl looked onto the monitor quickly. "Mr. Elsman is in his room right now. You can bring him the package on your own if you want."_

_Miri smiled knowingly. "I know but I want him to come here after he sees what's inside."She stretched her hand with the present. _

_Her answer made the young girl furrow her eyebrows in confusion. After a moment she finally took the package._

"_As you wish, Miss." The girl called an errand boy to fulfill Miri's request. _

_Miriallia went to sit down on a small sofa suddenly nervous wondering whether her little joke will play out the way she wanted to. _

_Five, then ten minutes went by and Miri was starting to doubt. 'Perhaps it wasn't such good idea to send him the test…' She thought. She grew more and more uneasy with every sound of the elevator opening doors. There was still no sign of Dearka coming down from his room._

_When she lost almost all of her hope she heard the lift's bell again followed by a running Dearka. He barely stopped not to hurt himself at the reception desk and bent over it scaring the girl behind it. Miri then saw as the girl pointed at her and Dearka's sight turned to her and made her straighten up. 'Head up, Miriallia, you can't give up now when you already managed to come here.' She told herself._

_The moment Dearka saw Miri sitting restlessly on the sofa he finally calmed down. He spent the whole day wondering if he wasn't too straightforward and worrying he won't see her ever again. Walking back and forth in his room he was contemplating whether to try talking to Miri again when someone rang. He watched the little package in his hand cautiously. He slowly opened it. A little paper fell out of it so he bent down to pick it up. 'SURPRISE!'_

_His confusion grew even more after reading such cryptic message. Then he finally looked carefully at what he was holding in his hands. It was a pregnancy kit. His eyes almost popped out and his insides froze as he took out the stick full of fear. He didn't need to read the manual to know what the result was. His knees grew weak and he fell on the floor. _

_It took him some time but soon a small smile appeared on his lips and grew wider and wider with every second as the truth sank in. Soon he was laughing like mad. _

_When he calmed down he realized that maybe Miri was waiting for him and he immediately stood up and rushed out of the room._

_Now, when he was slowly walking to her, he promised himself to cherish every moment of this second chance he got. He stopped in front of her and looked down._

"_Hi, princess." He had a gentle smile on his lips._

_Miri's legs were shaking so much she didn't know whether she'll be able to stand up. Before she could test it Dearka kneeled down in front of her. Miri's eyes widened when she looked into his eyes. No one was ever looking at her with so much love. _

"_Hi." She managed to say quietly biting her lower lip._

_Dearka took her hand and kissed it. "Shall we go?" He asked and she only nodded._

Back in the present Miriallia smiled secretly. _'And the rest is a history.'_ She thought.

They quietly closed the door leaving their kids to sleep and walked to the living room of their house where they sat on a sofa. They watched silently the beautiful nature outside through the big French window until Dearka remembered something.

"Miri, when you said the boys were supposed to be ready thirty minutes ago why did come so late to check out on us?" He asked suspiciously.

Miri froze and tried to come up quickly with an excuse.

"Well… I had to finish some work so… I forgot about time." She hoped Dearka wouldn't ask more.

"Oh, really?" Dearka noticed Miri's guilty face but didn't pursue the issue further.

"Yeah." Miri breathed out a silent sigh of relief. For now she was safe. In fact, she wasn't working but instead spent the time in bathroom because she wanted to confirm something. Her face lit up with a smile just with the memory of her discovery. _'I sooo want to tell him right now… ' _She thought wistfully but then she caught herself. _'No, not yet. I need to wait until the wedding is over. I don't want to steal Cagalli's day with this news.'_

Dearka was still watching her and after seeing Miri's expression bell started ringing in his head. His jaw dropped when he realized when he saw her looking like this the last time. He quickly turned his face away. He didn't want Miri to see he already guessed her surprise. His face lit with enormous joy and he had a hard time to condemn his expression. When he finally managed it he turned back to Miri and pressed her even closer to him placing a kiss into her hair. _'Please, God, let it be a girl this time.'_


End file.
